"Carmen Saeculare"

Poem Review # 114558

English > Analysis
History > Greek and Roman
Literature > Greek and Roman

"Carmen Saeculare"

A look at the politics of art and spectacle in Rome's Golden Age through an analysis of Horace's "Carmen Saeculare".

2,654 words () | 2 sources | APA | 2009 Canada

Paper Summary:

Taking Horace's "Carmen Saeculare" as its theme, this paper considers the poem's role in the cultural developments of the Augustan period, particularly those around the year 17 BCE. Specifically, the paper gives attention to the interrelationships between Horace's work and the social, political, ideological, and visual culture of the Augustan age, demonstrating how the "Carmen Saeculare" was not merely a response to the new era, but also actively helped shape it.

From the Paper:

"The ludi saeculares are rooted in an old Etruscan tradition, which maintained that the life of a people or nation was cyclical. This concept is linked to the idea of a greater renewal; when an older generation has passed away, a new generation, a new age, rises up to take its place. Inasmuch as Augustus had been spearheading a complex program to radically transform Rome since he had "freed the republic oppressed by the tyranny of a faction," whereby he was reshaping the Roman political, visual, and religious landscape, it is not surprising that the ludi saeculares appealed to him as an effective tool to further this process. Thus, the Secular Games should not be seen as the starting point of the nascent golden age, but rather, a significant milestone along the road that added to the process of ideological transformation that was well under way even before Actium. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Eck, Werner. 2003. The Age of Augustus. Translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider; new material by Sarolta A. Takacs. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Zanker, Paul. 1990. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. Translated by Alan Shapiro. Ann Arbor: University Press.